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August 22, 2012
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THOMAS AQUINAS COLLEGE RECEIVES HIGHEST RATINGS FOR ACADEMICS AND FINANCIAL AID FROM THE PRINCETON REVIEW

 Featured in the 2013 Edition of The Best 377 ������ýs

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

SANTA PAULA—August 20, 2012—Thomas Aquinas ������ý is one of the country’s best institutions for undergraduate education, according to The Princeton Review. The education services company features the 4-year, Catholic college in the 2013 edition of its annual guide, The Best 377 ������ýs. Only about 15% of America’s 2,500 four-year colleges and three colleges outside the U.S.A. are profiled in the publication, The Princeton Review’s flagship college guide.

While these 377 schools are not ranked in any order, they are rated in eight categories on a scale of 60 to 99. Among Thomas Aquinas ������ý’s ratings are perfect scores of 99 for both academics and financial aid, and a score of 97 for quality of life. The financial aid rating puts the college on the company’s “Financial Aid Honor Roll” and among the 75 private schools featured on its “Best Values” list.

Says Robert Franek, Princeton Review’s Senior VP / Publisher and author of “The Best 377 ������ýs,” “We commend Thomas Aquinas ������ý for its outstanding academics, which is the primary criteria for our selection of schools for the book. Our choices are based on institutional data we collect about schools, our visits to schools over the years, feedback we gather from students attending the schools, and the opinions of our staff and our 30-member National ������ý Counselor Advisory Board.”

“We are delighted that The Princeton Review has once again featured Thomas Aquinas ������ý in its annual guide,” says the college’s president, Dr. Michael F. McLean. “Of particular note are the perfect scores we received for our academic and financial aid programs. Our goal has always been to provide the best education at the most affordable price, and The Princeton Review profile offers some strong evidence of success in these regards.”

In its profile of Thomas Aquinas ������ý, The Princeton Review quotes extensively from students at the ������ý who were surveyed for the book. Among their comments: 1) Thomas Aquinas ������ý is a school that “takes learning seriously for its own sake, not just as preparation for a job;” 2) the ������ý has “a strong Catholic identity” and “a rigorous curriculum,” where “professors … lead you to truth without forcing it on you;” and 3) “You get all kinds of people here — but one thing they have in common is a desire to search for the truth.”

The guide also reports 62 ranking lists of “Top 20” colleges in various categories. The lists are based entirely on The Princeton Review’s survey of 122,000 students (about 324 per campus on average). The 80-question survey asks students to rate their own schools on several topics and report on their campus experiences at them. Topics range from assessments of their professors to opinions about their financial aid and campus food.

Among the “top 20” ranking lists on which Thomas Aquinas ������ý appears are the following:
“Most Religious Students,” “Happiest Students,” and “Best Classroom Experience.” The Princeton Review has posted the school profiles and ranking lists in “The Best 377 ������ýs” at PrincetonReview.com.

������ý Thomas Aquinas ������ý

Thomas Aquinas ������ý has developed a solid reputation for academic excellence in the United States and abroad. At Thomas Aquinas ������ý, there are no majors, no minors, or electives because all students acquire a broad and fully integrated liberal education. The ������ý offers one 4-year, classical curriculum that spans the major arts and sciences. Instead of reading textbooks, students read the original works of the greatest thinkers in Western civilization — the Great Books — in all the major disciplines: mathematics, natural science, literature, philosophy, and theology. Rather than listening to lectures, they engage in rigorous Socratic discussions about these works in classes of 15-18 students. The academic life of the college is conducted under the light of the Catholic faith and flourishes within a close-knit community, supported by a vibrant spiritual life. Genuinely committed to upholding civic virtue and leading lives dedicated to the good of others, Thomas Aquinas ������ý graduates enter a wide array of fields where they are a powerful force for good in the Church and in the culture. Well-versed in rational discourse, they become leaders in education, law, medicine, journalism, public policy, military service, and business. In addition, a steady 10% of alumni go on to the priesthood or religious life.

������ý The Princeton Review

Founded in 1981, The Princeton Review () is a privately held education services company headquartered in Framingham, MA. The Company has long been a leader in helping college and graduate school–bound students achieve their education and career goals through its test preparation services, tutoring and admissions resources, online courses, and more than 150 print and digital books published by Random House, Inc. The Princeton Review delivers its programs via a network of more than 5,000 teachers and tutors in the U.S.A., Canada, and international franchises. The Company also partners with schools and guidance counselors worldwide to provide students with college readiness, test preparation and career planning services.

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Media Contacts for The Princeton Review: Jeanne Krier, Princeton Review Books, 212-539-1350 or Kristen O’Toole, Princeton Review, 888-347-7737, ext. 1405 ([email protected]).